Customs Earns Ministerial Acclaim, Charged to Set Global Benchmarks in Trade Facilitation
Customs Earns Ministerial Acclaim, Charged to Set Global Benchmarks in Trade Facilitation
The Nigeria Customs Service ,NCS, has received high commendation from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, for its remarkable revenue performance, strategic investments in technology, and far-reaching reforms aimed at transforming Nigeria’s trade facilitation landscape.
Oyedele, who made the commendation during his inaugural Board meeting and facility tour of the Customs Headquarters in Abuja, on 2 September 2026, lauded the leadership and personnel of the Service for demonstrating exceptional institutional capacity in modernising customs operations, strengthening revenue mobilisation, and repositioning the agency as a pivotal engine of economic growth.
The Minister said that the Service has recorded an unprecedented revenue performance in 2026, generating N4.03 trillion in the first half of the year, followed by an additional N1.38 trillion in July and August.
He expressed confidence that the Service remains firmly positioned to attain its ambitious N11 trillion annual revenue target, attributing the impressive trajectory to accelerated automation, intelligence-driven enforcement, enhanced operational efficiency, and reforms designed to streamline cargo processing.
Oyedele particularly commended the Comptroller General of Customs, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, and his management team for providing the strategic leadership underpinning the Service’s ongoing transformation.
According to the Minister, the sophistication of Customs technological and intelligence infrastructure provides a formidable platform for Nigeria to transcend conventional benchmarks and assume a leadership position in regional and global trade.
He stressed that the remarkable results achieved by the Service should not merely be celebrated as milestones but should serve as catalysts for even greater institutional ambition. “Results are precisely what should propel us to do more,” Oyedele stated.
He tasked the Service to leverage its current momentum to establish world-class benchmarks in port efficiency, end-to-end transparency, cargo clearance, trade facilitation, and revenue integrity, stressing that Nigeria’s emergence as a competitive trading nation must be anchored on measurable performance rather than rhetoric.
The Minister further underscored the strategic importance of Customs in the Federal Government’s broader economic reform agenda, particularly in creating a more predictable, transparent, and efficient trading environment capable of attracting investment, accelerating legitimate commerce, and enhancing the country’s fiscal sustainability.
Reaffirming the unwavering support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Oyedele assured the NCS of sustained government backing through provision of cutting-edge technology, modern operational infrastructure, and enabling policy frameworks.
He emphasised that the Federal Government’s objective is not merely to strengthen Customs as a revenue-collecting institution, but to consolidate its emergence as a world-class trade facilitation agency and a strategic catalyst for Nigeria’s economic transformation.
With its expanding digital architecture, intelligence-led operations and reform-oriented leadership, the NCS, the Minister maintained, is increasingly positioned to set new standards for customs administration in Africa and demonstrate that Nigeria can compete and lead in architecture of modern global trade. “Nigeria must lead through performance, not rhetoric”, he maintained.
